Freedom's Razored Edge

Long cherished in America and sought after around the world, the freedom of the press is under attack. With the advent of the "war on terror," war over the air waves has broken out between producers of the media, the government and terrorists themselves.The events of 9/11 have resulted in unprecedented legislation, police measures and military initiatives dramatically impacting the complex relationship between freedom of expression, state security and terror in the US. In Turkey, the legal, moral and social consequences of a thirty-year war on terror have also impacted media roles in covering terror, but very differently owing to a long history of state control of the media. This study takes a comparative approach to examine the uncomfortable tug-of-war between freedom and regulation of the press in the United States and Turkey, from the past to the present. Bringing to light the complex mechanisms at work behind the scenes of media manipulation, silencing and propaganda, this book will be useful for media scholars, as well as the lay reader interested in how the balance of freedom between state security, terrorism and freedom of expression is indeed a war fought on a razor's edge.